Some embodiments provide novel inline switches that distribute data messages from source compute nodes (SCNs) to different groups of destination service compute nodes (DSCNs). In some embodiments, the inline switches are deployed in the source compute nodes datapaths (e.g., egress datapath). The inline switches in some embodiments are service switches that (1) receive data messages from the SCNs, (2) identify service nodes in a service-node cluster for processing the data messages based on service policies that the switches implement, and (3) use tunnels to send the received data messages to their identified service nodes. Alternatively, or conjunctively, the inline service switches of some embodiments (1) identify service-nodes cluster for processing the data messages based on service policies that the switches implement, and (2) use tunnels to send the received data messages to the identified service-node clusters. The service-node clusters can perform the same service or can perform different services in some embodiments. This tunnel-based approach for distributing data messages to service nodes/clusters is advantageous for seamlessly implementing in a datacenter a cloud-based XaaS model (where XaaS stands for X as a service, and X stands for anything), in which any number of services are provided by service providers in the cloud.
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3. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 2, wherein the session parameter is a session identifier.
4. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 3, wherein the session identifier is provided by the service node and the second data message is a message sent by the service node.
6. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 2, wherein the session parameter is a filename and the second data message is a message sent by the SVM.
7. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 6, wherein the set of instructions for extracting the filename comprises a set of instructions for extracting the filename from a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that is specified in the second data message.
8. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first data message is a request from the SVM to establish a connection session with the service node.
9. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of instructions for establishing a connection session comprises a set of instructions for performing a three-way Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) handshake with the service node.
11. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the SVM is a virtual machine or a container.
12. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of instructions for extracting the session parameter comprises a set of instructions for extracting the session parameter from a plurality of datagrams of a plurality of data messages including the second data message, said plurality of datagrams exchanged between the SVM and the service node during the connection session.
14. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of instructions for selecting the service node comprises a set of instructions for selecting a service node in the service node group based on a set of load balancing criteria and based on stored session parameters.
15. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the identified first data message is transmitted by a virtual network interface (VNIC) of the SVM.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the service processing module identifies the first data message before the data message reaches a software forwarding element on the host computer.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the subsequent data messages are messages sent by the SCN.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein the subsequent data messages are messages sent to the SCN.
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August 31, 2015
November 8, 2022
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